British driver Dario Franchitti was rushed to hospital with a fractured spine after a horror crash at IndyCar racing’s Houston Grand Prix.

The 40-year-old Scot, who has been crowned IndyCar champion on four occasions, suffered multiple fractures including a broken ankle as well as a concussion after his car flipped into the air and smashed into the track wall.

The accident occurred when Franchitti’s vehicle collided with the car driven by Takumo Sato and debris from the incident caused 13 spectators to be treated for minor injuries.

Safety team members work to remove Dario Franchitti (Picture: AP)

‘He’s talking,’ team owner Chip Ganassi told reporters after the crash. ‘His ankle is a little sore and his back is a little sore.

‘He’s gonna take a trip to the hospital, that’s for sure. But he’s OK.’

Franchitti, who has won the Indianapolis 500 three times, was fortunate his car did not catch fire after breaking into several pieces during the smash.

Sato gave his account of the crash when he said: ‘On the last lap I caught the marbles [chunks of rubber that come off the tyres and lie on the track] and brushed the wall and lost momentum.

‘A couple of cars passed me as I was offline and in turn five. I got very loose and Dario and I came together.’

The incident revived memories of the crash at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway which claimed the life of English driver Dan Wheldon.

Dario Franchitti is taken from the track in an ambulance (Picture: AP/Juan DeLeon)

Franchitti’s team-mate Scott Dixon said: ‘It’s the smells and the visuals. You have the remnants of Vegas popping into your head, coming around the corner, and you can’t drive through it because there’s a field of debris.

‘There was nowhere near the amount of damage that we saw a few years back, but seeing the replay, I think, was the big shock.

‘When I was driving around, I didn’t even look at the fence. To see Dario’s car definitely brings home what we do each weekend and the difficulties that we can have out there. It’s not a good sight to see, that’s for sure.’

Dixon, who leads the series, finished second in the race with Will Power taking the chequered flag as the race finished behind a patrol car following the crash.